Stapling machine



- XF'. PoLzr-:R

STA-PLAINCY MACHINE med sept.. 11, lzo

Apri NYENTUR TNRHEYS Patented Apr. 27, 1926.

iJin'ii-:n STATES PATENT ori-Ica FRI'DOLIN POLZER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSGNOR TO THE E. H. HOTCHKISS C01VI- PANY, F NORWALK, CONNECTICUT, A ClElGRiliIGN 0F CONNECTICUT; i

STAPLING MACHNE.

Application filed September 11,1926. Serial No. 409,616'.

State of New York, have invented aeertain new and useful. Improvementy in Stapling Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates particularly to a machine adapted to insert staples in thin wood, paper, leather, or any other thin substance or article; but it has relation especially to stapling machines used* for fastening together sheets of paper, cloth, or other ifabi ries.

The object ot my invention is to provide a stapling machine oft the above kind which shall be very compachstable, reliable, durable and inexpensive,J but which cannot easily become clogged, by any accumulation of bentstaples therein, for the reason that bent stap-les 'aref' not'likely to be formed` byit andV Jfor the reason' that if any: staples should be Y defect-ive or bent theymay be easily released from the machine, which is adapted to be usedwith either short or Vlong strips of staples. These stripsmay be introduced or removed at will, it being practicable toremove them either through the feed opening or" through an opening opposite thereto, or through either one of a, plurality ot lateral open-ings. A furtherv object of my invention is to provide al rugged and simple machine whose parts shall be easy toV make and vto assemble, which shall kbe practically tool-` p'root, and in which anew strip'may be fed even though there remain in the machine only one staple of the previous strip.

The present machine, which is ini some respects similar to that described in my appli-v.

cation Serial Number 382,575, filed May 19,`

` coil spring 8 locatedfaround the composite vide independent means for depressing the' iteeding pawl and thebac-k-stop lever land to obviate an' undue weakening or liability rederangement cfparts, or te a displace ting ottV of staples, and

ment of sta-ples in the region where the plunger acts thereon to cut them successively :trom a strip and tol drive them home, will appear from the detailed description. thereof contained hereinafter.

While my invention is capable of being carried Vout in many dilferent forms, for the purpose of illustration I havexshown only one form of my invention in the accompanying drawings, in which: l

Fig. l is a vertical section of a machine made in accordance with my invention,`

Fig. 2 is a rear view of an advantageous. Jform ot plunger for use therein, a preferred` form of knob'i'or use at the top of said plunger being shown in section, l

Fig'. 3 is a bottom view of a part otV the new form of main casting, .together with associ-ated parts that cooperate in the' cut- Fig. l is an elevation of the completev machine.. l i

lIn the drawings, I have shown a stapling machine comprising a base l and a. ina-in casting 4. The basepreerably has ears 2 to,

which the main casting, 4f', is pivoted byr means such as a horizontal. cutter bar 3, which bar may be secured in the lower part of said casting between spacing plates, such as plates 3b, by anyA convenient means such as rivets 5, but preferably in such away as to leave inverted U-shaped recess 3a in the casting 4 and above the bar 3,-`-through which U-shaped recess a stripof staples 10, may advance, astride of said bar.

In the topy ci the casting 4, there is shown a yrecess 53,' through which extends the coniposite plunger 6, 64, moving substantially at right angles to the bar 3, and having a striking head such as a knobr 7, at the top thereof, said'lrnob serving also to confine a or bipartite plunger 6, 6, between the surmounting knob 7, (preferably comprising` the parts 7a and 7b, as shown) and the main casting 4. n i

In the present embodiment theV plunger 6, 6, thus comprises two parallel flat elements ico which are preferably of steel andk may be secured together, as by electric welding, near the point of their union, by means such as a projection lil, with al counterpart steel element 7n, which is preferably associated withaeovering element, which may be of a softer and non-corrosive metal material such as aluminum, crimped or otherwise secured thereon.

The shape of the elements (i, (3, conforming to that of the channel in which they run, is sufficient to keep these elements together and to prevent the composite plunger 6, G, from turning. As in other machines of this general character, the lower end of the plunger element (but in this case only the plunger element (i) serves as a cutter, there in acting in conjunction with the bevelled forward end 3C of the bar 3 to sever a staple from the end of a staple strip 10 and to force the same downwardly within slots 11, located in the casting 4;, against a recessed abutment 12 adapted to crimp the ends of the staple after it has passed through a fabric or other material or article which may have been inserted between the casting l and the abutment 12.

The preferred means for feeding, holding and releasing the strip of staples comprises a feeding pawl 18 and a. back-stop lever 23, shown as housed within the mentioned internal recess in casting Ll. During the downward movement of the plunger' element 6, said plunger element engages with an arm 18 on a lever lil pivoted to the casting 1, causing said arm to enter a slot Gr and another arm 16 on the lever 14 to become released from contact with the lower end of the plunger 6a. The rotation of the lever 1-1 in this way brings about the retraction or rearward movement of a feeding pawl 18, which is pivoted to the lever 14, and the forward end of which is pointed to engage with the strip of staples 10.' lt will be understood that this pawl 18 is U-shaped in cross-section, so that the front pointed end of the pawl has two points which engage with the strip of staples, one point contacting on each side of the center thereof. Furthermore, the shape of this pawl 18 provides for conveniently attaching one end 19 of resilient means, such as a spring 19a, which may be attached, as at 19, to the lever 14, in such manner as to depress the tip of the pawl into effective Contact with the strip of staples to be fed, incidentally to the rise of the plunger elements and the restoration of the parts to the position shown in Fig. 1.

The back-stop lever 23, which serves'as al releasable mea-ns for holding the staple strip in the position to which it| may be advanced by the means just described, is preferably engaged and depressed by means such as spring 20, which may be located around a pin 21 passing through the casting et. The

4other end 22 of the spring 2() preferably engages with ak recess in the top of back-stop lever 2?), which may be carried by a pivot 24- in the casting l. The lever 28 is also shown as U-shaped in cross-section, and its forward end preferably i'its within the interior of the feeding paw] 18. As shown, the forward end of lever 23 has two pairs of teeth 25 and 26 which engage with the staple strip introduced intothe machine` while the rear end thereof forms a handle 2T, which, when pressed, will release the feeding mechanism by elevating the feeding pawl 18 simultaneously with the elevation of the teeth and 26, which are connected to said lever 28.

The described construction of the plunger 6, 6, forming two parallel plates dili'ering in length in the manner indicated in Fig. 2, makes it possible for most of the associated part-s to be made from sheet material, assembled at moderate expense, and effectively secured together in a form that is ri gid` reliable and attractive,*the element G being preferably provided in advance with a slot. G, into which enters the point 13 and which may be made to terminate at the point I, just above the arm 16 of lever 14. In the organization shown and described, the need of any feather upon the plunger is obviated, is also the need for any corresponding grooves within the casting 4;.

The opening 28, Fig. 1, may be one of a plurality of lateral openings, which may be symmetrically arranged or, as shown, may be staggered to permit access to different regions from opposite sides, and to permit any desired inspection or adjustment.

The providing of thementioned extefior recess 5a in the top of the main casting l insures a proper seating and protection of the spring 18, obviating any sliding thereof; and it also renders the machine more compact, tending thereby to render it less liable to be accidentally overturned, either in use or Y otherwise.

By reference to Fig. 3, it. will be noted that, in this embodiment of my invention the vertical inspection of clean-out slot 28 is preferably restricted to a transverse diameter substantially less than that of the bar 3, which, in turn, is preferably less than that of the plunger element 6. The transverse diameter of the plunger element 6, is, moreover, preferably less than the sum of the diameters of the bar 3 and the plates 3, 3a. By the indicated simple and novel rcstriction in the diameter of the slot 28, and the correlation of the other dianieters in the manner indicated, the strength of the lower portion of the casting` in that region where the act of stapling puts a considerable lateral or expanding strain upon it, is retained substantially unimpairec,---although each aperture provided is entirely adequate to a, machine in which liability to derangement is minimized by the expediente above mentioned.

One important innovation already rem ferred to and tending to the mentioned mini miZing of liability to derangement is best illustrated in Fig. 3, wherein the spacing lll Lesegaes plates 3-`ll are shown to be of' such width or thickness, `and so placed, that, rn the region where they approach' or Contact with the moving plunger element 6, the minute but.

ment of my stapling machine, when it is desired' to apply staples tofabrics or' the like for fastening sheets ofthe same together,v astrip of staples 1U is introduced into the machine by pressing the handle 27 vdown-` wardly, introducing' the staples overthev rear end of the bar' 3 throu'glr the U-shaped recess 8a until the staple strip engages with the teeth 25 and 26 of the hack-stop 23.l sheets of fabric or other materials or articles are now inserted byraising the casting 4, and introducing the same between the plunger 8 and the abutment 12. The sheets, or the like, are now fastened together by pressing upon the knob 7, so that the plunger 6 severs a staple from the staple strip 10, and then forces that staple through the fabric, or the like, `and finally crimps its ends in the recess provided in the top of the abutment 12.

The downward movement of the plunger 6 causes the feeding pawl 18 to be moved rearwardly, while the strip is held in iiXed position by means of the teeth 25 and 26. Upon the upward movement of the plunger 6a, the vpawl 18 is moved forwardly, thus feeding the strip far enough to bring the next staple under the plunger 6. The stapling together of the sheets, or the like, in this way may be continued as long as desired, it being necessary only to replenish the supply of staples and to repeat the depression of the plunger. If, for any reason, the slots 11 or any other portions of the feeding passageways should become lilled with bent staples, the parts of the staple strip contained in the slot 11 may be readily removed by pressing the plunger 6 downwardly and the parts of the staple strip carried within the recess 3 may be released by pressing the projecting handle 27, thereby allowing the parts of the staple strip to fall out of the machine upon tilting. In this way, any necessity for sending the machine back to the factory when clogged is obviated, and loss of material due to inability to utilize short ends of staple strips is also obviated. Again, it will be understood that, as in the machine of my men- 'the machine will function normally.

durability of the present con-` The' tioned prior application, wlienei'fer a machine contains only oue remaining staple of the staple stri) and a fresh staple' strip is inserted, the new staple strip will be engaged by the rear teeth 26, and thereafter On the other hand, in the case of previous staple machines the newly inserted staple strip is likely either not to enga-ge with the one pair of teeth usually present in the backstop, or to force the one remaining staple from the previous" strip out of the apparatus, so causing the loss of the staple. Prior machines of this general typehave also' been made unduly tall-unduly complicated, and unduly liable to derangement in one or' more of the several respects above referred to..

While I have described my invention above in detail, I wish it toy be understood that many changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit thereof.

It should, furthermore, be understoodthat one of the' main advantages of the present construction, compared with such prior constructions as aim at some provision for the release of the staple strip, lies in the fact that, in my construction, one hand will suffice for both the holding of the entire machine and the depression of the projecting handle 27 of the back-stop lever 23, the other hand being thereby left free for the grasping or catching of the released staple strip, or for any other desired use.

I claim:

1. In a stapling machine,vthe combination with a main frame or casting, of a plunger adapted to move therethrough, acutter bar secured in said casting substantially at right angles to said plungerand adapted to c0- operate therewith, and spacing plates interposed between said cutter bar and said casting, the lateral faces of the plunger overlapping the juxtaposed edges of the cutter bar and spacing plates.

2. In a stapling machine, the combination with a main frame lor casting, of a plunger comprising two plates adapted to move therethrough, a knob surmounting said parallel plunger elements and a cutter bar cooperating with one of said plates.

In' a stapling machine, the combination with a main frame or casting, of a bipartite plunger adapted to move therethrough and comprised of two parallel elements which are secured together near the top thereof Vand which areadapted to interlit with an aperture in one element of a surmounting knob.

Il. In a stapling machine which comprises staple feeding means, two parallel plates, one of which plates is provided with a sloty and engages with said staple feeding means, and both of said plates being surmounted by a knob comprising a plurality of elements through one of which both of said plunger elements extend for effective attachment thereto.

5. In a stapling n'iaehine, a main frame or casting provided at the top With an exterior recess suitable for the seating of a spring, a spring therein, a bipartite plunger passing through said spring and returnable thereby, a knob on said plunger, and means for securing the elements rof said plunger to one :mother and to said knob.

6L In a stapling machine, a main casting, a cutter bar secured thereto by spacing plates and adapted to carry a stripv of staples advancing therethrough, means for advancing said staples, a bipartite plunger, and means for operating said feeding means by contact of parts thereof with an element of said bipartite plunger.

7. In a stapling machine, a main casting, a cutter bar adapted to carry a strip of staples, means for advancing such a strip therethrough, a bipartite plunger moving substantially at right angles to said cutter bar, one element of said plunger being adapted to cooperate with said cutter bar to sever and to drive staples carried thereby and the other element of said plunger being adapted to operate said means for advancing the strip of staples.

8. In a stapling machine, a main casting provided with an exterior recess for seating a spring in the top thereof and with an interior recess, a bipartite plunger whose upper part is held together Within a surmounting knob, said plunger passing through said spring and through both of said recesses, a cutter bar so secured to said main casting by spacing plates as to permit of the feeding of staples therealong, means for feeding staples therealong and for holding staples thereon, said cutter bar and said spacing plates and said plunger being of such diameters that the joints between the mentioned parts shall be staggered relatively to one another, one element of said bipartite plunger being adapted to cooperate with said cutter bar in the severance yof staples and the other element thereof being adapted to operate said sta-ple feeding means.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing7 I have hereunto set my hand this 9th day of September, 1920.

FRIDOLIN POLZER. 

